This study demonstrates the feasibility of placing percutaneous posterior lumbar pedicle screws with the assistance of Iso-C 3-dimensional navigation.

We describe a computer-based method that selects representative clones for full-length sequencing in a full-length cDNA project. Our method classifies end sequences using two kinds of criteria, grouping, and clustering. Grouping places together variant cDNAs, family genes, and cDNAs with sequencing errors. Clustering separates those cDNA clones into distinct clusters. The full-length sequences of the clones selected by grouping are determined preferentially, and then the sequences selected by clustering are determined. Grouping reduced the number of rice cDNA clones for full-length sequencing to 21% and mouse cDNA clones to 25%. Rice full-length sequences selected by grouping showed a 1.07-fold redundancy. Mouse full-length sequences showed a 1.04-fold redundancy, which can be reduced by ∼30% from the selection using our previous method. To estimate the coverage of unique genes, we used FANTOM (Functional Annotation of RIKEN Mouse cDNA Clones) clusters (the RIKEN Genome Exploration Research Group 2001). Grouping covered almost all unique genes (93% of FANTOM clusters), and clustering covered all genes. Therefore, our method is useful for the selection of appropriate representative clones for full-length sequencing, thereby greatly reducing the cost, labor, and time necessary for this process.[The programs used in this paper are available online at http://genome.gsc.riken.go.jp/software/2C.]Full-length cDNA projects attempt to collect all mRNAs transcribed from the genome and determine the full-length cDNA sequences in their entirety. Considerable effort has been expended to improve the techniques involved. At the completion of mouse and human full-length cDNA projects, 30,000 to 100,000 full-length cDNA sequences will have been determined. The determination of full-length sequences requires large amounts of reagents, manpower, and time, which can be reduced by removing redundant full-length cDNA clones that potentially number in the thousands. As an experimental approach, mRNAs transcribed at high levels can be removed by normalization and subtraction during the construction of cDNA libraries (Carninci et al. 1996(Carninci et al. , 1997(Carninci et al. , 1998(Carninci et al. , 2000Carninci and Hayashizaki 1999). However, because experimental normalization and subtraction are very difficult to apply to similar clones belonging to the same gene family, redundancies remain in the normalized cDNA library. Another possibility is, after end sequencing of the cDNAs, to identify negligibly redundant clones by a computational approach to classify the end sequences.In general, when several full-length cDNA sequences are determined, redundancy can be reduced using homology search software by aligning the full-length cDNA sequences with their end sequences. Genomic sequences are also useful for reducing the redundancy. However, early in a project or when genome sequences are unavailable, the end sequences need to be classified. Several programs for clustering singleread expressed sequence tags (EST) have been reported (Adam...

We report herein the cases of two patients with major venous anomalies associated with abdominal aneurysmectomy, one being an isolated left-sided vena cava and the other, a retroaortic left renal vein, and discuss the clinical significance of such anomalies. In the first patient, an isolated left-sided vena cava was correctly diagnosed preoperatively by contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) which revealed that the vena cava crossed the normal portion of the aorta and the right renal vein ran cephalad. In the second patient, a retroaortic left renal vein was also preoperatively diagnosed with CE-CT and DSA. In both patients, dissection was performed, taking care to avoid injury to anomalous venous tributaries, and graft replacement for abdominal aneurysm was successfully carried out. Thus, careful preoperative evaluations using such imaging techniques as CE-CT, DSA, and venographic studies, are important for establishing the presence of an associated venous anomaly preoperatively to ensure the success of abdominal aneurysmal surgery.

ABSTRACT. Fragile sites are non-randomly distributed chromosomal breaks and gaps observed in the cells cultivated under certain conditions. Feline fragile sites were analyzed using skin fibroblast strains after the treatments with aphidicolin and fluorodeoxyuridine in combination with caffeine. Three aphidicolin-induced fragile sites (A1q21, C2q13 and E1p21) as well as a folate-sensitive site (B1q14) were observed in all the 3 fibroblast strains tested for each treatment group. The loci in A1q21 and B1q14 are very close to that reported previously for peripheral blood lymphocytes and lung cells. Two chromosomal break points in C2q13 and E1p21 seem to be new fragile sites. Fifteen candidates for feline fragile sites were also assigned their locations in feline chromosomes. Both the incidence and distribution of feline fragile sites in skin fibroblasts seem to be different at least in part from those in lymphocytes. -KEY WORDS: aphidicolin, chromosomal break, feline, fluorodeoxyuridine, fragile site.J. Vet. Med. Sci. 60 (7): [809][810][811][812][813] 1998 in peripheral blood lymphocytes. For the study on feline fragile sites, however, lymphocytes are less suited, because the culture often suffer a heavy loss of lectin-activated cells by aggregation with platelets. In human, the fragile sites in skin fibroblasts treated with aphidicolin differ in both frequency and distribution as compared with those observed in lymphocytes [10,11]. In the present study, we have investigated novel fragile sites induced in feline skin fibroblasts, because the banding pattern of their chromosomes have been well-characterized [12]. MATERIALS AND METHODSFeline fibroblast strains: Small patches of skin were excised from foot pads of four healthy female domestic cats under the sterile condition. The skin fragments were minced with scissors in the Ca 2+ -and Mg 2+ -free Dulbecco's phosphate buffered saline (PBS(-)), and cell suspension obtained was inoculated into 25 cm 2 plastic culture flasks containing Eagle's minimum essential medium (Nissui) supplemented with MEM sodium pyruvate solution (GIBCO), nonessential amino acid solution (GIBCO), and 10% inactivated fetal bovine serum (Hyclone). The flasks were incubated in the fumidified atmosphere containing 5% CO 2 at 37˚C and medium was replenished periodically until the growth of the fibroblasts reached confluence.Drug treatment: Single-cell suspension was prepared from a confluent culture of fibroblasts by trypsinization and inoculated into a plastic dish containing 10 ml of the growth medium. The dish was then incubated under the condition mentioned above for 2 days. Drug treatment was carried out by the procedure described by Yunis and Soreng with slight modifications [30]. Briefly, the log-phase culture of fibroblast strains FFB2, FFB3 and FFB4 were treated with Fragile sites are non-random chromosomal breaks and gaps observed in the cells under the folate-deficient condition [25] as well as those treated with particular mutagen, carcinogen and clastogens [31]. A great number of p...

A new method of making cytologic preparations quickly from biopsy specimens-Using prostatic and osseous biopsy materials Ritsuko IMAI1), C.T., I.A